Dems are heading the way of Labour and their fate will be exactly the same. I will not vote for my own extinction or the party that advocates for it. Call them what they are MAGA lite.
As the song goes - Ten degrees left of center at the best of times, ten degrees right of center when it affects them personally. (although I think perhaps Phil Ochs' scale was a big miscalibrated for our current era)
Said it before I'll say it again, we don't win ANYTHING when anti-Trans Dems are elected. They're no better for us than Repugs or MAGAts. I'm not voting for any Democrat unless they are an explicit proactive ally, and that's that. Acton, Newsom, Moulton, can all take a flying fuck at a rolling wood chipper.
"And a candidate willing to throw transgender people under the bus to win has seemingly told every other minority exactly what their protection is worth when the polling gets tight."
Yep.
Add that comments and attitudes like this from not only candidates but the Democratic party will dishearten voters. They'll be disgusted, feel hopeless, and stay home on election day. And that's a vote for the bad guys. The other bad guys.
I believe the Jews have some experience with fickle support.
Sadly, I think part of it is how humans can too often be, casting out or ignoring the plight of others in search of the chimera of their own comfort and safety. An article five months ago in the NYT was instructive.
"The terrorism of the Nazi state was often in plain view. If you lived in Grunewald, one of the wealthiest parts of Berlin, you could have seen Jews being marched to the railway station, from which freight trains packed with humans left for the ghettos and death camps in Eastern Europe. Others would have seen neighbors dragged from their homes. In some cases, they could have heard the screams of prisoners in the forced labor camps that were spread all over the city.
"And yet most people looked away, pretending to see nothing, and carried on with their lives. Why? As is so often the case under autocratic regimes, from Hitler’s Berlin to Mussolini’s Rome to Vladimir Putin’s Moscow, things go from bad to worse in stages. Today’s outrage is tomorrow’s normal. People adapt and get used to it."
May we find the courage, strength, and wisdom to never succumb to that.
Quoting myself from some time ago, we often expect that people who have experienced bigotry and oppression will be more sensitive to it when experienced by others. We are often disappointed.
The grace I afforded Acton in an earlier post now seems misplaced, in part because I am convinced by the strength of your argument that she crossed a red line and refused to atone for doing so in light of this recent development regarding the position of the ODP.
As an Ohio voter I wrote to Dr. Acton after her initial comments. That there are so many viable responses to questions about transgender girls in sports and she chose just about the worst possible one has cost her two votes. I could even live with the “settled law” argument if she hadn’t maliciously misgendered these poor kids.
This action by the ODP is different. It is anti-democratic and it shows why Democrats still poll so poorly in a time marked by deeply unpopular right-created chaos: they won’t stand up for people and everyone sees it. So, now I get to sit out the OH gubernatorial election because I’m confronted with two transphobes.
Anyway, I have finally subscribed after months of freeloading. I am deeply grateful to have someone who can summarize and explain each legislative threat to trans rights as it arises and help my family figure out where the pockets of safety are in the U.S. It is a lifesaving service. Thank you, Erin.
Apparently mainstream Dems don't want or need progressive votes, they only care about getting centrist White cis het male votes by pandering to misogynists and queerphobes. Even though they've been trying that strategy now for...'16, '18, '20, '22, '24, and here we are again after that strategy has FAILED IN THE PREVIOUS FIVE ELECTIONS to increase turnover, close gaps in purple states, win White men, unite Dem constituencies, or entice the mythical middle.
What do you call it when somebody keeps repeating the same behavior and failing yet expecting different results, over and over and over...?
It's not that they don't need or want our votes. It's that they think they can take them for granted. Any hesitation or resistance is met with the manipulative outrage of "What, you want (the demon du jour) to win??!?"
Agree, Anne. Such a shocker. Acton and the party really blew it. I regret my donation to her campaign (I’m in California). She definitely needs to walk back that comment and make amends, but the damage is done. Creepy Ramaswamy must be licking his chops. Hate that guy. Huge tactical error by the Ohio Dems.
The supermajority in the Ohio statehouse dooms the state regardless of outcome. Even if Acton vetoed the most egregious house bills they will simply override her veto as they have DeWine’s (vastly more moderate Republican than the house).
Ramaswamy is an absurd candidate, but Acton has revealed herself as such. I have no qualms about refusing to vote for either due to the political realities of the state.
ODP the Ohio Donald Party. This silencing is such a maggot move. Implicit in every anti-trans statement or action by a democrat is a false belief that trans people either don’t vote or will always vote dem no matter what. See you dems under the bus!
I’ve been leaving her little tidbits of information on her Bluesky account, that hopefully may change her mind. I’m stepping that up this week. She will NOT get my vote, nor will Vivek. Next tidbit will be from Kirsti Miller, the trans woman from Australia, who has done loads of research into the biological reality of trans women in sports.
I’ve shared those previous entries here on Substack.
if she was a responsible politician, she'd have already researched the issue. Sure there's disinfo out there, but anyone who isn't rendered unable to learn from the trans community by epistemic bigotry can get endless infodumps of peer reviewed and credible research. Also, she waited until just after the primary to open up about her bigotry, she knows exactly what she's doing and how bad it is. I'd be surprised if she didn't discuss it with people on the ODP beforehand, to ensure they'd tell people to vote blue no matter who while she uses the trans community to make speedbumps in the bus lane. Its an honorable pursuit, to try to reason with her like that, and while I appreciate your efforts, I don't believe she deserves them.
The Trans Community deserves the effort. I’ll keep trying with whatever focus and energy I have at my disposal. I’m 68 this year and feel a bit beat up from the feet up, by can still do something positive.
For the Ohio Democratic Party to try to silence criticism of Acton is deeply disappointing. That is the kind of political maneuvering I would expect from Republicans, not from a party that claims to value open debate and accountability.
If Acton chooses to make statements about the transgender community, she must also accept that those comments will be challenged and criticized. Public figures do not get to make controversial remarks and then demand protection from the consequences of their own words.
Accountability and free discussion are essential to a healthy democracy. Silencing criticism only damages the very principles Democrats should be defending.
“For the Ohio Democratic Party to try to silence criticism of Acton is deeply disappointing.”
They are clueless about why they keep struggling with voters, and this is a case study. Start with a focus-grouped, poll-tested response to a divisive issue and then attempt to quash all dissent. The damage is done, and as hackneyed political trope would have it, it’s not the crime that dooms you it’s the cover-up.
All this shows is the sweaty desperation of establishment Dems, and there are few things less attractive in life than desperation.
Political expediency, desire for power and money trump morality, science and critical thinking, again. Getting tired of having to choose the least worst candidate.
This is why we can’t support moderate dems and candidates with luke warm support. We need to expect and demand more. We tried to get commitments from Sherrill in NJ during campaign. She refused to do so publicly. She would fall right into Acton category given the chance. After all she supported the NDAA. Isn’t that all we need to know? We need to be vigilant. We can’t be fooled.
I wouldn’t condemn Sherrill so unequivocally. Hasn’t she affirmed NJ as a safe haven state for affirmative care? It also seems fair to say that she did not cave on questions regarding trans rights despite a tight campaign, which Erin noted as a stark contrast to Acton’s cowardly (at best) statement in the first piece on this.
The NDAA was a huge, sprawling piece of legislation that impacted a broad spectrum of policy concerns. As advocates I think we need to be more nuanced — and forgiving — about the realities facing political allies and how they have to pick their battles, especially when the opposition party controls all branches of government? I share your disappointment and unhappiness, but if we insist on utter purity we will be even more disappointed.
I surely don't trust republicans and this information and more are definitely eroding my faith in democrats. I don't know when people will realize that THEY COULD BE NEXT.
Dems always spend their goodwill chasing mythical maga crossover voters who don't exist. Acton will lose and Dems will spend the next 4 years with two nostrils full of finger wondering why
Thank you for the address of the Ohio Dems. It encouraged me to write to them:
Dear Ohio Dems:
Acton's opinion on transgenderism is not supported by evidence. I am a medical doctor (pediatrician) who has worked with transgender individuals and have read and understand the data.
The Dems suppressing Progressive criticism, a subset of their own party, divides the party. This is also why Dems lose elections. They show they are no longer willing to stand up for minority opinions. They think they can win by rocking the boat as little as possible. But in the past Dems were willing to take in the underdogs. And win because of it.
Look no further than Mamdani. You may not agree with everything he stands for, but he does have the courage to stand up for his beliefs. People respect that and vote for him. What your party has done by supporting Acton's prejudice is cowardly and voters see that.
Dems are heading the way of Labour and their fate will be exactly the same. I will not vote for my own extinction or the party that advocates for it. Call them what they are MAGA lite.
As the song goes - Ten degrees left of center at the best of times, ten degrees right of center when it affects them personally. (although I think perhaps Phil Ochs' scale was a big miscalibrated for our current era)
Said it before I'll say it again, we don't win ANYTHING when anti-Trans Dems are elected. They're no better for us than Repugs or MAGAts. I'm not voting for any Democrat unless they are an explicit proactive ally, and that's that. Acton, Newsom, Moulton, can all take a flying fuck at a rolling wood chipper.
Truth!
"And a candidate willing to throw transgender people under the bus to win has seemingly told every other minority exactly what their protection is worth when the polling gets tight."
Yep.
Add that comments and attitudes like this from not only candidates but the Democratic party will dishearten voters. They'll be disgusted, feel hopeless, and stay home on election day. And that's a vote for the bad guys. The other bad guys.
Nicely worded and so true.
Jews have definitely noticed the conditionality of Dem support
I believe the Jews have some experience with fickle support.
Sadly, I think part of it is how humans can too often be, casting out or ignoring the plight of others in search of the chimera of their own comfort and safety. An article five months ago in the NYT was instructive.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/opinion/history-hope-delusion.html
"The terrorism of the Nazi state was often in plain view. If you lived in Grunewald, one of the wealthiest parts of Berlin, you could have seen Jews being marched to the railway station, from which freight trains packed with humans left for the ghettos and death camps in Eastern Europe. Others would have seen neighbors dragged from their homes. In some cases, they could have heard the screams of prisoners in the forced labor camps that were spread all over the city.
"And yet most people looked away, pretending to see nothing, and carried on with their lives. Why? As is so often the case under autocratic regimes, from Hitler’s Berlin to Mussolini’s Rome to Vladimir Putin’s Moscow, things go from bad to worse in stages. Today’s outrage is tomorrow’s normal. People adapt and get used to it."
May we find the courage, strength, and wisdom to never succumb to that.
Quoting myself from some time ago, we often expect that people who have experienced bigotry and oppression will be more sensitive to it when experienced by others. We are often disappointed.
I hope, I never adapt. As an advocate I will keep fighting, writing, letters to congress, and protesting.
Considering all the violence that has already occurred against Jews all over the world, we’ve already succumbed.
Thanks, Erin, for terrific reporting.
The grace I afforded Acton in an earlier post now seems misplaced, in part because I am convinced by the strength of your argument that she crossed a red line and refused to atone for doing so in light of this recent development regarding the position of the ODP.
What benefit is there to the Caucus being inside the ODP instead of outside where they won't be silenced?
Apparently...none.
As an Ohio voter I wrote to Dr. Acton after her initial comments. That there are so many viable responses to questions about transgender girls in sports and she chose just about the worst possible one has cost her two votes. I could even live with the “settled law” argument if she hadn’t maliciously misgendered these poor kids.
This action by the ODP is different. It is anti-democratic and it shows why Democrats still poll so poorly in a time marked by deeply unpopular right-created chaos: they won’t stand up for people and everyone sees it. So, now I get to sit out the OH gubernatorial election because I’m confronted with two transphobes.
Anyway, I have finally subscribed after months of freeloading. I am deeply grateful to have someone who can summarize and explain each legislative threat to trans rights as it arises and help my family figure out where the pockets of safety are in the U.S. It is a lifesaving service. Thank you, Erin.
No problem. I do what I can to call this stuff out wherever it exists.
Suitably modest, but I hope you know it is more meaningful than that.
Gad. Why did Acton have to say such thing? No one wants Ramaswamy as governor but...
I hope Acton walks back the comment and that she expands her campaign staff to include more LGBTQ people so progressives can vote for her.
And the party censoring the statement is way horrible.
Apparently mainstream Dems don't want or need progressive votes, they only care about getting centrist White cis het male votes by pandering to misogynists and queerphobes. Even though they've been trying that strategy now for...'16, '18, '20, '22, '24, and here we are again after that strategy has FAILED IN THE PREVIOUS FIVE ELECTIONS to increase turnover, close gaps in purple states, win White men, unite Dem constituencies, or entice the mythical middle.
What do you call it when somebody keeps repeating the same behavior and failing yet expecting different results, over and over and over...?
It's not that they don't need or want our votes. It's that they think they can take them for granted. Any hesitation or resistance is met with the manipulative outrage of "What, you want (the demon du jour) to win??!?"
Agree, Anne. Such a shocker. Acton and the party really blew it. I regret my donation to her campaign (I’m in California). She definitely needs to walk back that comment and make amends, but the damage is done. Creepy Ramaswamy must be licking his chops. Hate that guy. Huge tactical error by the Ohio Dems.
For me there is no walking back for her. It is in her hear, head and transphobic voting in the future.
I'm not in Ohio, so I can't vote for her. But I would vote for her to block Ramaswamy if I did live there. Sad that "lesser of two evils" is a thing.
The supermajority in the Ohio statehouse dooms the state regardless of outcome. Even if Acton vetoed the most egregious house bills they will simply override her veto as they have DeWine’s (vastly more moderate Republican than the house).
Ramaswamy is an absurd candidate, but Acton has revealed herself as such. I have no qualms about refusing to vote for either due to the political realities of the state.
It is now clear that she needs to lose so that this rot doesn’t spread.
Campaign finance law allows you to request your donation be returned. Assuming that's not just a my-state thing...
Thanks, Anthony!
I hope that didn't come across as a mansplain. I didn't know it myself until I ran for office.
If Democrats won't protect the rights of myself or those I love then they aren't worth voting for.
ODP the Ohio Donald Party. This silencing is such a maggot move. Implicit in every anti-trans statement or action by a democrat is a false belief that trans people either don’t vote or will always vote dem no matter what. See you dems under the bus!
I’ve been leaving her little tidbits of information on her Bluesky account, that hopefully may change her mind. I’m stepping that up this week. She will NOT get my vote, nor will Vivek. Next tidbit will be from Kirsti Miller, the trans woman from Australia, who has done loads of research into the biological reality of trans women in sports.
I’ve shared those previous entries here on Substack.
if she was a responsible politician, she'd have already researched the issue. Sure there's disinfo out there, but anyone who isn't rendered unable to learn from the trans community by epistemic bigotry can get endless infodumps of peer reviewed and credible research. Also, she waited until just after the primary to open up about her bigotry, she knows exactly what she's doing and how bad it is. I'd be surprised if she didn't discuss it with people on the ODP beforehand, to ensure they'd tell people to vote blue no matter who while she uses the trans community to make speedbumps in the bus lane. Its an honorable pursuit, to try to reason with her like that, and while I appreciate your efforts, I don't believe she deserves them.
The Trans Community deserves the effort. I’ll keep trying with whatever focus and energy I have at my disposal. I’m 68 this year and feel a bit beat up from the feet up, by can still do something positive.
For the Ohio Democratic Party to try to silence criticism of Acton is deeply disappointing. That is the kind of political maneuvering I would expect from Republicans, not from a party that claims to value open debate and accountability.
If Acton chooses to make statements about the transgender community, she must also accept that those comments will be challenged and criticized. Public figures do not get to make controversial remarks and then demand protection from the consequences of their own words.
Accountability and free discussion are essential to a healthy democracy. Silencing criticism only damages the very principles Democrats should be defending.
“For the Ohio Democratic Party to try to silence criticism of Acton is deeply disappointing.”
They are clueless about why they keep struggling with voters, and this is a case study. Start with a focus-grouped, poll-tested response to a divisive issue and then attempt to quash all dissent. The damage is done, and as hackneyed political trope would have it, it’s not the crime that dooms you it’s the cover-up.
All this shows is the sweaty desperation of establishment Dems, and there are few things less attractive in life than desperation.
As I said trying discourage criticism of Actin is wrong
Did you think I was disagreeing? 🙂
Not at all
Well said?
Political expediency, desire for power and money trump morality, science and critical thinking, again. Getting tired of having to choose the least worst candidate.
I hate that too it seems to be between no and HELL NO
I'm just across the border in Michigan Abdul is the only one on any level that made a statement in support of transgender people
This is why we can’t support moderate dems and candidates with luke warm support. We need to expect and demand more. We tried to get commitments from Sherrill in NJ during campaign. She refused to do so publicly. She would fall right into Acton category given the chance. After all she supported the NDAA. Isn’t that all we need to know? We need to be vigilant. We can’t be fooled.
I wouldn’t condemn Sherrill so unequivocally. Hasn’t she affirmed NJ as a safe haven state for affirmative care? It also seems fair to say that she did not cave on questions regarding trans rights despite a tight campaign, which Erin noted as a stark contrast to Acton’s cowardly (at best) statement in the first piece on this.
The NDAA was a huge, sprawling piece of legislation that impacted a broad spectrum of policy concerns. As advocates I think we need to be more nuanced — and forgiving — about the realities facing political allies and how they have to pick their battles, especially when the opposition party controls all branches of government? I share your disappointment and unhappiness, but if we insist on utter purity we will be even more disappointed.
I surely don't trust republicans and this information and more are definitely eroding my faith in democrats. I don't know when people will realize that THEY COULD BE NEXT.
Dems always spend their goodwill chasing mythical maga crossover voters who don't exist. Acton will lose and Dems will spend the next 4 years with two nostrils full of finger wondering why
You can contact the Ohio Democrat Party at:
Email: info@ohiodems.org
Phone: 614-233-1138
Thank you for the address of the Ohio Dems. It encouraged me to write to them:
Dear Ohio Dems:
Acton's opinion on transgenderism is not supported by evidence. I am a medical doctor (pediatrician) who has worked with transgender individuals and have read and understand the data.
The Dems suppressing Progressive criticism, a subset of their own party, divides the party. This is also why Dems lose elections. They show they are no longer willing to stand up for minority opinions. They think they can win by rocking the boat as little as possible. But in the past Dems were willing to take in the underdogs. And win because of it.
Look no further than Mamdani. You may not agree with everything he stands for, but he does have the courage to stand up for his beliefs. People respect that and vote for him. What your party has done by supporting Acton's prejudice is cowardly and voters see that.
I hope you will reconsider your stand.